Association between experience quality in a short-term, voluntary, rural, funded, immersion placement program on future rural engagement decisions.

Authors

Brenden James, Robyn Ramsden, Louise Geddes, Sabrina Pit, Yann Guisard

Published in

Australian journal of primary health. Volume 32. Issue 5. Oct 20, 2026.

Abstract

Rural immersion programs are commonly used to expose medical students to rural practice using curriculum-embedded placements. However, evidence regarding short-term, funded, voluntary, rural immersion placements that are not part of standard curricula-based training and their association with continued rural workforce engagement remains limited. Participants of the Bush Bursary, a voluntary, scholarship-based rural immersion program delivered through innovative partnerships between local councils, community organisations and the Rural Doctors Network (Australia). The program provides 2- to 6-week immersive rural exposure experiences across New South Wales.
This was a retrospective cohort study. A post-placement survey was distributed in 2022 to 357 former participants from 1996 to 2021 to measure subsequent self-directed rural placement participation and factors associated with excellence in rural experiences.
Participants who rated their immersion experience as 'excellent' had a significantly higher likelihood of undertaking further rural placements compared with those providing only a 'good/poor' rating (OR 6.90; 95% CI 1.70-27.99; P = 0.007). Factors independently associated with an excellent experience included rural health experience (OR 4.98; 95% CI 1.22-20.39; P = 0.026).
Brief, voluntary, scholarship-based rural immersion placements with local council and community organisation partnerships, beyond formal curricula-based training, may influence subsequent rural engagement when experience quality is high. Although duration is an important dimension of immersion, authentic participation in rural clinical and community settings is also a defining feature of immersive educational experiences. Short-term rural placements may influence future self-directed rural placement decisions, acting as important stepping stones within the rural workforce pathway. In this context, short-term, scholarship-based rural immersion placements may complement existing policy levers to strengthen rural workforce pathways.

PMID:
42693034
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 Sep 2026.

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